Butch Jamie

Butch Jamie
Directed byMichelle Ehlen
Written byMichelle Ehlen
Produced byMichelle Ehlen
Leah Williamson
Starring
  • Michelle Ehlen
  • Olivia Nix
  • Tiffany Anne Carrin
  • David Au
  • Andrea Andrei
CinematographyMatt Workman
Edited byMichelle Ehlen
Music byHarold Squire
Production
company
Ballet Diesel Films
Distributed byHere! TV
Release date
Running time
84 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Butch Jamie is a gender-bending romantic comedy film that premiered in July 2007 at Outfest: the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. Writer, director, and lead actress Michelle Ehlen won Outfest's Grand Jury Award for "Outstanding Actress in a Feature Film."[1] The film was produced independently through the filmmaker's production company, Ballet Diesel Films.[2]

Plot[edit]

The film follows the story of Jamie, a struggling butch lesbian actress who gets cast as a man in a film. The main plot is a romantic comedy between Jamie's male alter-ego, "Male Jamie," and Jill, a heterosexual woman on set. The film's subplots include Jamie's bisexual roommate Lola and her cat actor Howard, Lola's abrasive butch German girlfriend Andi, and Jamie's gay Asian friend David.[1][3]

Cast[edit]

  • Michelle Ehlen as Jamie
  • Olivia Nix as Lola
  • Tiffany Anne Carrin as Jill
  • David Au as David
  • Andrea Andrei as Andi
  • Joe McDaniel as Dan
  • Mary Lynch as Francine
  • Nathan Edmondson as Glen

Comedic elements[edit]

Butch Jamie utilizes deadpan humor through slapstick, irony, and satire. The film incorporates elements of slapstick physical comedy along with the irony of Jamie entering into a "heterosexual" relationship with an unknowing woman. As a satire, the film pokes fun at gender roles, social assumptions, stereotypes, and the politics of relationships.[4][5][6]

In addition to gender roles and stereotypes, the film also satirizes the movie industry.[5] This is reflected not only through Jamie's adventures, but also through Howard, the cat actor who Jamie has projected her competitive drive onto.[4] Howard's owner, Lola, takes the cat's career very seriously, complete with professional head shots and a demo reel.

Representation of butch women onscreen[edit]

While it's common to see comedies where men pose as women, female to male comedies are much less prominent. While the film is said to be a lesbian version of Tootsie,[5][7][8] the fact that it highlights a butch actress marks it as unique. Jamie's stereotypical butch masculinity, sarcasm, and cockiness are rarely seen in such prominence in female actors on-screen. Unlike Dustin Hoffman in Tootsie, Jamie's career problems are not the result of a character flaw, but from a flaw in the way women are chosen to be represented.

Sequel[edit]

Writer/director/actor Michelle Ehlen is developing a sequel called Heterosexual Jill. While Butch Jamie is a satire on gender, Ehlen proposes to have the sequel be a satire on sexuality.[6][9]

Awards[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Butch Jamie
  2. ^ Ballet Diesel Films
  3. ^ "GayWired.com - Outfest Days Eight & Nine". Archived from the original on 2009-06-15. Retrieved 2007-11-16.
  4. ^ a b "welcome to dykediva.com". Archived from the original on 2007-12-19. Retrieved 2007-11-16.
  5. ^ a b c "Time Out Chicago: A wider stance". Archived from the original on 2007-11-18. Retrieved 2007-11-16.
  6. ^ a b "LesbiaNation - Butch Jaime's Michelle Ehlen". Archived from the original on 2008-04-27. Retrieved 2007-11-16.
  7. ^ Outfest 2007 | Film | Advocate.com
  8. ^ "Los Angeles Journal". Archived from the original on 2008-04-26. Retrieved 2007-11-16.
  9. ^ "In Development". Archived from the original on 2009-06-14. Retrieved 2007-11-16.
  10. ^ a b c "Butch Jamie | EDGE United States". EDGE Media Network. Retrieved 2023-12-24.
  11. ^ "서울국제여성영화제". 서울국제여성영화제. Retrieved 2023-12-24.

External links[edit]

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